Welcome to Blackbird Pie, the Tank & Ferry Test Kitchen and a place to investigate some culinary delights from another era. I'll be baking (and eating) and sharing my exploits and invite you to join me. If nothing else, it's going to be yummy, but also I hope to gain an insight into food and cooking from the era of The Liberty & Property Legends, wherever that journey may take me. I suspect it won't be too far from realizing a wonderful legacy of nourishing home and hearth cuisine and perennial favorites. And it may even take me to some entirely unexpected destinations...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Longfellow's Wayside Inn Apple Pie

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On the 27th of last month it was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's birthday. In honour of that famous gentleman, who happens to be a literary hero of mine, Blackbird Pie presents for your culinary delightLongfellow's Wayside Inn Apple Pie.I do this with the help of my enthusiastic moodle, Coco Chanel, who it seems, unlike with most food, can be trusted with granny smith apples, and who was happy to provide the cuteness factor to this post about simple apple pie - or is it?

"One Autumn night, in Sudbury town,Across the meadows bare and brown,The windows of the wayside innGleamed red with fire-light through the leavesOf woodbine, hanging from the eavesTheir crimson curtains rent and thin."

Longfellow's Wayside Inn is located in Sudbury, Massachussetts. Tank and I visited the Inn last summer on our trip to Boston.

The menu at the Inn is a

fascination in itself, with a whole

section called Traditional

Wayside Inn Favorites!

In 1862 the beloved American poet visited the Red Horse Tavern as it was originally called. Since his wife's tragic death, grief-stricken Longfellow had writer's block and lacked inspiration. Here at the Red Horse Tavern he found some. He wrote his renowned Tales of a Wayside Inn, which was published in 1863 and became an immediate success. From then on the Red Horse Tavern became known as Longfellow's Wayside Inn.This recipe comes from Longfellow's Wayside Inn Cookbook, a cherished keepsake from my visit to the Inn. For this scrumptious, fragrant apple pie you need the following:

I used granny smiths ~ perfect apple pie apples after all ~ check out these beauties!Back in the day they may have used Newtown Pippins!

6 medium size apples, cored, peeled and sliced

1/3 cup brown sugar

pinch of salt

2 TB cornstarch

2 TB flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

1 tsp lemon juice

2 TB melted butter

9" unbaked pie crust (23cm)

9" Unbaked pie crust

And so to the Longfellow's Wayside Inn method:Place all ingredients in bowl and mix together. Pour fruit mixture into unbaked 9" (23cm) Pie Crust. Egg wash rim and place top crust over filling. Crimp edges and cut steam vents in top crust. Egg wash crust and bake at 350 degrees (180 C) until golden brown.

Ingredients lined up and first applepeeled.

Now that's not hard, right? And still I managed to savage my thumb with the knife while slicing the apples - the second one I might add, so basically the whole pie was made with an injured thumb. Enter the complication. I'm probably the world's most clumsy piemaker. That being said, my pies do taste very good. My pie adventure in pictures below, but I spared you the blood... shudder, urgh!
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Apples peeled and cored.

Apples sliced and lemonjuiced added.

Now for the brown sugar...

...flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and pinch of salt.

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Freshly grated nutmeg is a bit of spice coup de grasas well as being great fun and very satisfying. If youdon't grate your own nutmeg you've got to try it!

Pour in the melted butter...

...and give it a satisfying mix ~ the aroma of apples and spices is heavenly, and you just know that this pie is going to be good.

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Fill the unbaked pie crust with yourapple mixture...

...look at the height of those babies!I'm getting very excited at the prospectof eating at this point.

Top crust on, crimp the edges and egg wash the lot ~ love painting with egg. And below ~ oven ready and just look at that shine!

While I wait for the pie to go all goldenI take a moment to give the Longfellow'sWayside Inn Cookbook it's due recognition.It mentions at the bottom of the recipe thatyou can make this pie with pears instead of apples, substituting brown sugar for white.~~~ And below ~ after about 40 minutes thisis the result of my labours and consideringit was mostly done without any input frommy left thumb, I'm pretty thrilled. Look atthis pie, all golden and delish.

Apples piled high and spicy. Smells goodtastes even better. How did those blackbirds get in there!I cannot recommend this apple pie enough.

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Can you see the green apple of my eye?Guarding apples is no mean feat for a moodle whose epilepsy medication makes a pup even more hungry than usual. And I was there when mummy's thumb got the chop. I was therefor her, like I'm always there. I don't think I barked from the front doorat a someone in the street and thereby causing the knife to slip. Do you take mefor an indiscriminate barker with no consideration for those wielding a dangerousimplement? Besides, I'm cute. It's in my job description and I'm good at my job. Yeah!See you next time on Blackbird Pie!